Learning to Live
by Lady Morganna
Summary: Sesshomaru decides Rin needs a human mother, so he buys Rin a human mother. However, the woman Sesshomaru buys soon teaches Sesshomaru what it means to really live.
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1

A Demons' Contemplation

The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon and paint the world with its palette of rosy reds and burnt oranges, as a figure stood tall and regal against the fading night. The grass was still wet with the nights dew and had a sweet scent that enticed the cows in the meadow far below to munch on the long tendrils. The village below was still sleeping as dawn came, the only witness to the birth of the new day was the silent sentinel on the ridge. This was his favorite time of the day, when every other being was still and the world was beginning again. The breeze lifted long silver strands of silken hair in the breeze and rustled the silk fabric of his clothes. This was the only time of the day the great taiyoukai felt at peace with the world and himself.

The great taiyoukai often found his thoughts wandering onto his young charge at times like this. She was young and had not learned everything she needed to learn from her human mother. The lord knew he could not teach her everything a human female needed to know. He could teach her to read, write, and defend herself, but the things a girl must learn from her mother he could not teach her. He wanted Rin to learn everything she needed to learn to become a great lady. He did not understand the reason for this want nor did he try to understand it he just knew in the small corner of his heart that was still warm that he wanted Rin to learn to be a great lady. Many did not understand the lords' interest in the young human girl but they understood she was his and so left her alone, mostly. The ones who did not leave the young girl alone where soon dealt with swiftly by the claws of the taiyoukai.

With a sigh the youkai made up his mind to find his young charge a mother, a human mother. This meant the human woman would be traveling with the group and he would have to protect her. He would only protect her though if Rin took an interest in her. Now that he had decided to get Rin a human mother he began to plan what kind of mother to get Rin.

The woman would have to be intelligent to teach Rin everything she needed to know. She would also have to be graceful, kind, gentle, loving, understanding, and patient. She would also have to be able to defend herself and Rin if the need ever arose. Not that it would, he never wandered far from the child and would not let anything harm what was his. And Rin was his.

A shrill voice interrupted the youkai's thoughts. "RIN!!! It is time to get up! Stupid human, you are very lazy. Why Sesshomaru-sama does not kill you or leave you is beyond this youkai. Move! We must not keep the lord waiting." The toad was answered by a sweet soft voice "Jaken-sama, Rin is sorry Rin is a stupid lazy human. Rin will try harder to be better so Rin does not embarrass Sesshomaru-sama." And so the two beings in camp began their day preparing breakfast and packing their bedding. Sesshomaru turned back to the valley and thought once again Rin needs a mother who is assertive and will take Jaken to task about telling the girl she is a stupid lazy human. Sesshomaru set off with only the confidence a great taiyoukai could have in his ability to find a human goddess willing to travel with a toad youkai, a two headed dragon, a small human female, and a cold taiyoukai. Thinking to himself what a great plan he had created, Sesshomaru walked into camp and informed his companions they would be traveling to some villages today to search for something. Four heads turned to Sesshomaru in utter confusion; he never went into human villages because of the stench.

Midday and he had not seen a human female yet he would trust to care for Jaken let alone his Rin. The females were more interested in throwing themselves at him then the little girl hiding behind his leg. Did they not understand he was not searching for a mate but a mother to Rin? Why could they not understand that? Humans were difficult to understand but human females were the most difficult. A deep breathe and a no to the human in front of him who had told him she could teach Rin to satisfy him. _I do not want Rin to satisfy me. I want a mother for a child. Humans make me ill. _Above the noise Sesshomaru heard the voice of a man begging another man for more money for….. What was that the human male was holding? It looked like a long horse's tail. With a flicker of golden eyes the youkai took in the pitiful family huddled behind the man. A woman with six small children clinging to her, an older male child standing with his arms crossed, and a female holding her hand up to her hair. Sesshomaru knew then what the male held, the girls hair. She did not cry for the loss of her hair nor did she seem to notice the looks other females were giving her she just stood there still and resigned to the fact that her hair now barely brushed her shoulders in uneven layers. Sesshomaru looked at her again as he would an animal he was purchasing. Her head would only come up under his chin, she was delicate almost fragile looking with long graceful looking arms and hands. If not for her eyes her face would have been quite plain. Her eyes were the most unusual color of brown with flecks of green in them. Sesshomaru saw what he wanted for Rin and decided this was the perfect human female. Acquiring the female should be no problem as the family seemed to need money.

Sesshomaru walked up to them with the confidence that had been bred into him and addressed the man. "You are trying to earn money to feed your family?" The humans all stared at the youkai unsure of his interest in them and their life. The man finally managed to stumble over his words "Yyyes. We we are very poor and I need to feed my small children." Sesshomaru looked at the human and knew he would have no problem acquiring the female now. The man had not interest in feeding his family he only wanted to but the drink that soured his breath. "I wish to purchase your oldest daughter. I will give you fifteen coins for her. You could feed your family for many days." Sesshomaru watched the greed play across the mans face as he looked back at the stunned face of his daughter who was shaking her head viciously no. The man began to think with the fifteen coins the youkai was going to give him for his daughter and the five the man was going to give him for her hair he could have quite a good time. The man agreed readily enough. Sesshomaru gave him the coins, turned, and began to walk away confident that all of what was his would follow him. He could hear the girl talking to her father and her fathers' response. "You no longer belong to me, you belong to the youkai. Go with him. He seems to have a use for you. You are only a burden to me." The girl turned from her family and began to follow the youkai. Sesshomaru was quite proud of himself. He had found a mother to teach his Rin all she needed to know from a human female and it had only cost him fifteen coins.

Little did Sesshomaru know that he had just gotten himself into a lot of trouble that no male, human or youkai, had yet been able to tame. Fate was indeed playing a cruel trick on the great taiyoukai today. Walking behind the group was not the thankful, subservient human female Sesshomaru imagined but a walking, breathing, and fuming female who could and would give the lord the time of his life.

And so the odd little group continued into the forest. Sesshomaru so sure of himself led the way, followed by a confused Jaken, a curious Rin, a worried Ah and Un, and a human female who was already plotting the downfall of the great Lord Sesshomaru-sama, Lord of the Western Lands.

Authors Note

Okay that was the first chapter. I am a first time writer on I usually do not show what I write to anybody but I would like any reviews, good or bad, for the beginning of this story. I have several chapters ready to go but have decided to only post one this time.

Lady Morganna


	2. Child of Light

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters or the rights to any of them. But I can dream!

Words in italics mean the character is thinking them in their minds.

Chapter 2

Child of Light

Her mind was working quickly. Sesshomaru would have been astonished at how quickly the human females mind was working. Planning an escape was easy but how would she be able to escape and not have the taiyoukai know she was gone. _The youkai probably already has my scent committed to memory. I will have to leave my scent behind but how?_ The female was in a bad mood, a really bad mood. She had been following the back end of a two headed dragon that smelled like he had not been bathed in weeks for many hours now. What being would be happy following such a smell? She watched as the dragon walked along its body swaying to and fro the small saddle on its back rocking the young child like a cradle. Then an idea hit her and she quickly began to put it into action. She quickly untied the sash of her kimono and laid the outer garment over the small girl. One of the dragons' heads turned to watch what she was doing and ensure the safety of his young mistress. Once Ah was sure the girl was safe he turned his head back around and continued walking. The taiyoukai never looked back.

The path the group followed soon split into two paths. The one they continued on lead the way away from the river, the other to the river. With a smirk and an air of superiority only a young human female could feel she sprinted down the second path. _The youkai will not know I am gone until I am long gone. Imagine paying fifteen coins for a FREE human. I am no ones slave!! I refuse to be one. I will die if I must to keep my freedom. _Once she reached the end of the path she dove fearlessly into the water receiving a shock when it was ice cold. _Great a river formed by ice melt. Why couldn't it be formed from a nice hot spring? _Pushing through the cold water the female swam as hard as she could with the river, but since the river had a nice current she did not have to swim much.

Sesshomaru tested the air around him and found something amiss. The human females scent was there but weaker like she was trailing behind. He turned to coldly tell her to pick up her pace and was astonished to find she was not there at all. Her kimono lay across the sleeping Rin but she was gone. Sesshomaru began to become annoyed; however, he did not show this emotion to Jaken. "Lord Sesshomaru, the human female is more trouble then she is worth you should just let her die, which she will without you to protect her." Sesshomaru looked at Jaken and in his cold calm voice told him "Jaken I did not ask for your thoughts. Do not voice them again." Jaken cowered behind the two headed staff his lord had given him and began to apologize profusely. Sesshomaru walked by without acknowledging his apology. He followed the females scent to the river but once he reached the river her scent was harder to follow because she had traveled in the water. Nonetheless, Sesshomaru did pick up her scent and started downstream after her.

She had just reached an area of the river that was shallow, the water only came up to her knees. She glanced down at her hands and saw they were a deep blue in contrast to the pure white of her undergarments. It was time to get out of the water, turning towards the shore she took one step and was stopped by a long serpentine tail wrapping around her waist. She was brought up to the face of a water youkai. His eyes were dark velvet and his scaly hide was the most beautiful jade green she had ever seen. The youkai's eyes were mesmerizing and soon she felt swayed to do his bidding. She completely relaxed in his grip and was allowing him to carry her towards his mouth.

_What am I doing? I just want to sleep and let this youkai eat me. Wait! Let him EAT me? I don't think so! _The water youkai was surprised when she began to struggle and even more surprised when she began to hurt him. She fought for her life with all of the weapons she had puny human nails and blunted human teeth. Together these weapons would not frighten off any being but added to them was a desire to live. When combined with this desire any weapon can cause harm. She screamed, bit, scratched, kicked, and punched the youkai causing him pain but most importantly stopping the gradual movement to his mouth.

_I am going to be eaten._ Closing her eyes, she prepared for inevitable death. The next feeling she felt was a sense of falling. She believed she was falling down the throat of the youkai. A giant splash of ice cold water and a sharp rock to a sensitive portion of her anatomy led her to correct her belief.

"Hurry up human! We do not have all day to wait on you." The little toad was screaming at her in his shrill superior voice. _Not the best time to be yelling little toad. _She shoved Jaken's head under water and ground his beak into the sharp riverbed. She began to move towards the bank and left the two battling youkai behind. Sesshomaru had come to save her this was perplexing. She turned just as Sesshomaru dealt the final blow to the water youkai. As the serpent fell to the river, his blood spilled up in an arc in front of Sesshomaru. _Wow. He looks like a conquering lord. Duh! That's because he is a conquering lord and you are the prize baka!_ She shook her head of these thoughts as the small girl leaned down from the dragons back and held out her hand.

"My name is Rin. This is Ah and Un and that is Master Jaken. What is your name? How old are you? How come your hair is so short? Are you cold?" Rin did not even give her a chance to answer all of her many questions one at a time, so she answered them as the child had asked them.

"My name is Mitsuko. I am 20. My father cut my hair to sell for sake and yes I am very cold." Two female voices were then giggling like they had been the best of friends forever.

Sesshomaru drew back at the females name but did not show the emotions that were warring in his head. As the group moved up the path, Sesshomaru began to look for a place to spend the night. He soon found one to his liking and informed the group they would sleep here for the night. Here was in the center of a circle of trees and was protected from the wind by the trees. Jaken began a fire and soon Rin, Mitsuko, and Ah and Un were eating a simple meal of rice. As Rin was preparing to sleep at the side of her beloved Sesshomaru-sama, she asked Mitsuko one more question. "Mitsuko, what does your name mean? Mine means water lily." The child ended her sentence on a yawn.

"My name means child of light and daughter of Mitsu. Mitsu was an inu youkai who protected this area of the western lands she died protecting humans, one of the humans was my great-grandfather. To honor the female youkai, a female of our family is always named Mitsuko." When Mitsuko looked to Rin, the child's eyes were closed and she was dreaming of picking flowers for Sesshomaru-sama's sash. Mitsuko slid down into her own bedding and was also soon fast asleep. Not knowing she left a very troubled Sesshomaru awake. He looked at the female and all he could think was _you would be proud of this human female who carries your name. _

Sesshomaru's eyes would not close this night; instead his mind would wonder the memories of his youth.

Authors Note

To my two reviewers- I thank you for your thoughts please keep reviewing and tell me what you like and don't like.

Lady Morganna


	3. Down a Forgotten Path

Down a Forgotten Path

Disclaimer-I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters.

The day began with a warm breeze wafting through the treetops. The breeze stirred the hair of the young inu child wandering down a path in the garden. He was playing, alone as he always did, just a few steps ahead of an inu female. The female had long silver hair streaked with blue flowing to her hips, her eyes were the deepest pools of blue many had ever seen. She walked with a purpose and a natural grace that led many to believe she was unable to defend herself. This often led to the untimely demise of several demons attacking her humans. The only odd thing about this inu youkai was her deep love and understanding of humans. She enjoyed talking to them, liked to watch as they made their way through a life that was sometimes to harsh for their fragile bodies. She protected them when the need arose and taught them many things. She smiled at the young child in front of her. He was her greatest accomplishment and her greatest joy. She feared for him because of his contentment in being alone but she was also proud he could take care of himself so easily. He looked more like his father then her but he had her interest in humans and her desire to help them. He showed humans kindness and understanding, the female's greatest wish was that her son would continue to show these feelings later in his life. Neither of the inu youkai knew today would change both of their lives forever.

Down the path ran a young warrior, he was covered in blood and was severely wounded but he continued on. The warrior rounded a bend in the path and came upon the two inu youkai, mother and son, playing in the sun, laughing with the innocence of childhood. The female turned and saw the blood soaked warrior "What has happened?" the smell of human blood wafted to her delicate nose.

"I'm sorry Lady Mitsuko the human village was attacked many are dead and the attacking youkai can not be pushed back. We need assistance."

Mitsuko bent to her son's level "I have to go help the humans, Sesshomaru. Go back inside." Sesshomaru watched as his mother walked away from him for the last time. He would always remember her walking away but the memory that stuck with him and haunted his dreams came two days later inside the great hall. He had seen the trail of people coming to the castle wall, running down the steps he couldn't wait to see his mother and tell her all of the things he had done in her absence.

The same young warrior entered the hall first, the pain and sadness washed off of him and the others in waves. Sesshomaru stopped in the middle of the great hall, his mother was not behind the warrior nor could he see her amongst the others. There were several youkai carrying a stretcher covered with a rough handmade blanket. Sesshomaru was drawn to the stretcher, he had to lift the blanket, had to see what had become of her, what had been done to her. Mitsuko lay on the stretcher, her once lively blue eyes closed forever. Her silver hair was streaked with red as well as the familiar blue. Sesshomaru could smell death coming from her; he knew she was gone forever. The wound of death was delivered to her heart. Sesshomaru could see where a sword had entered her chest and cut through her heart. Everyone offered him their sympathy and words of comfort. Humans came to see the son of their protector and to offer him what comfort they could. Something inside of Sesshomaru snapped, in his child's mind the people who had caused his mothers death was not the youkai who had killed her but instead the humans who had needed her protection. In that instant, Sesshomaru pushed aside his mothers teaching and turned his back on weak humans. Sesshomaru turned from the group gathered in the great hall and walked up to his room.

Sesshomaru's father returned the next day to find his mate dead and his son a cold creature. Nothing the father could do would bring his son back to his warm, trusting self. Soon the father stopped trying and he and his son became distant from each other.

The years began to melt into each other and Sesshomaru grew into a cold, uncaring, lonely tai-youkai. When his father took a human mate Sesshomaru saw this as an indiscretion against his mother. When the human female bore his father a hanyou child, Sesshomaru could find no fault with the child. He after all had done nothing wrong. A small spark of what he had once been began to burn in his heart once more. When the human female was killed and his father died trying to save her life, he saw her as the reason his father died. She was just another weak human causing the death of a strong youkai. The hanyou child became a source of blame and weakness. Sesshomaru drew deeper into himself and became colder.

Sesshomaru looked across the fire to the new human in his group. She was curled into a ball under her blanket the only part of her that was visible was her short dark hair. She slept but she did not sleep peacefully. She also had such a tight grip on the blanket that her knuckles were white. Even in her sleep she had to fight for what was hers, even a blanket.

Sesshomaru looked down at the small human child curled against his side. She lay completely relaxed and peaceful. She was covered with his fur but had it pushed down to her waist. Sesshomaru pulled the fur up to her chin and smoothed her hair down. She completely trusted him to take care of her and not let anything happen to her. For her he had found a human female to teach her and for her he would endure the female's presence. If anyone looked into Sesshomaru's heart they would see the great tai-youkai would do anything for the young human girl including give up his own life to ensure her life would continue if the need ever arose. She had lit up his once dark cold life; she brought him warmth, sunshine, and laughter. She was his greatest accomplishment and his greatest joy.


	4. Day One: And the Battle Begins

Disclaimer-I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters. Mitsuko and any other original characters are mine.

Day One: And the Battle Begins

Sunshine sparkled through the branches of the trees and danced across Mitsuko's face, drawing her from her troubled dreams. When she opened her eyes, she looked to the spot where the youkai had been the night before. He was gone. Rin was still curled up fast asleep. The toad was snoring loud enough to wake the dead and was beginning to annoy Mitsuko already. The two headed dragon watched all three of the individuals in the campsite with an air of complete boredom. They alone knew Sesshomaru was watching from a distance. Sesshomaru wanted to see how Rin and Mitsuko would react to each other and to see if the human female would put Jaken in his place. Mitsuko rose from her bedroll, walked calmly to Jaken's side, stood above him with a serene smile on her lips and then kicked him in his offending little beak. Jaken jumped up and was prepared to give the female the beating she deserved when he was lifted off the ground by the females hands.

Mitsuko looked the toad in the eye and very calmly said "You will no longer call the child or me by anything other then our names. You will treat her better and you will be a much nicer little toad."

"Or what human?" Jaken asked in his most superior voice.

"Or I will make your merry little existence a living nightmare toad." Mitsuko put Jaken down and began humming to herself as she walked to the river to bathe. Jaken stared at her retreating figure in disbelief. How dare she, a human, talk to him, a youkai, like that? Sesshomaru patted himself on the back because the female had seen right through Jaken and instead of using physical violence just threatened the little toad. Jaken would spend the rest of the day working himself into a frenzy wondering what Mitsuko could possibly do to him. The toads own mind was often his worst enemy and would cause him more sleepless nights then a beating from the female would. Sesshomaru followed the female to the river to explain her purpose in his group.

She was still humming to herself when she slipped into the river and began to hurriedly bathe. The water seemed to be colder then it was yesterday and she didn't want to spend anymore time then was necessary in the water. Sesshomaru, seeing her enter the water, decided to wait on the bank to talk to her about her role in the group. This would be Sesshomaru's first mistake of the day. He soon learned one simply did not watch a female bathe.

When Mitsuko rose from the water, she hurriedly made for the shore and her warm dry clothes. Once she reached the bank, Mitsuko froze in disbelief and anger. Sitting in the sun Sesshomaru did not understand her anger.

"What are you doing here? Why are you watching me bathing?" Mitsuko just wanted to put her kimono on or at the very least her undergarments. Her hands were a poor substitute for her clothes. Sesshomaru did not seem to notice she was unclothed, dripping wet, and shivering from cold as he began to speak.

"I came to inform you of your duties in this group. You will have many duties the main one is to……"

"You came to talk to me while I was bathing? Can I at least have my clothes then pervert?" Sesshomaru was stunned. No one, not even other tai-youkais interrupted him when he was talking and no one had ever called him a pervert before. He looked at the female for the first time and saw the blush rising up the long elegant neck and then spread across her cheeks. He motioned to her clothes with one clawed hand and simply said "Your clothes are where you left them." Rage instantly boiled inside of Mitsuko. She had seen the recognition of her nakedness in the youkai's eyes and had seen him decide to assert his dominance by making her come to get her clothes. She stood there undecided, freezing, and embarrassed to be seen naked by this arrogant youkai. She made up her mind to retrieve her clothes when a morning breeze raised goose bumps on the small of her back. Hurrying over to the reclining Sesshomaru, Mitsuko snatched up her clothes and hurriedly pulled them on. As she was dressing, Sesshomaru could hear her mumbling to herself about arrogant youkai who thought they would control her. He heard something about his family lineage that would have made a seasoned soldier blush because of its crudeness. When she was finally dressed, Sesshomaru began again.

"Your duties in this group will be numerous. However, the most important one will be to care for and teach Rin the things she should have learned from her mother. You are now her mother." Sesshomaru rose from his reclining position in the sun and began to walk back to camp. Sesshomaru's second mistake of the day was believing the female was now subservient and would do as he said. Since he believed he was in complete control, Sesshomaru dropped his guard to scan the area around the camp for any enemies. He did not hear her run towards him until it was too late. Sesshomaru felt a small warm body slam into him from his left side. The female had completely taken him by surprise and because of this Sesshomaru wound up sitting in the river. His once fluffy fur was now drenched and sagging off his shoulder, his bangs hung in thick wet clumps obscuring part of the view of the female as she bent down and looked him in the eye.

Mitsuko very calmly said "I do not like to be watched while I bathe. Stay away from me when I do it. You can find yourself another girl for these duties too. I have no desire to be a mother to any child." Mitsuko turned and walked away from a fuming Sesshomaru. As Sesshomaru rose from the water he decided he had to teach the female a lesson. He also decided he could never let his guard down around Mitsuko again. She was dangerously clever for a human.

When Mitsuko entered camp she was still angry at Sesshomaru. She already had a plot forming in her mind. One that would make the tai-youkai think twice about ordering her around. Perhaps her plan would even convince the youkai to let her go and begin a new life.

As Sesshomaru entered the campsite, he watched a smirk pass across Mitsuko's face. Inside he groaned, he had seen another woman smirk like that too. His mother had often had that I am going to be very annoying smirk on her face many times when his father had done something she did not like. Sesshomarus' mother usually only annoyed his father by moving things around or rearranging his desk. These little tricks of hers annoyed his father because of his desire for perfection in his office. Sesshomaru had a feeling Mitsuko would be far more brutal in her tricks then his mother ever was. This was going to be a very long day.


	5. And the Battle Continues

I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters. However, Mitsuko is my creation and is off limits.

And the Battle Continues

They had left their camp two torturous hours ago and Sesshomaru was quickly losing his pertinence with Mitsuko. She was calmly trying to drive him insane. For the last two hours she had been alternating between walking in front of him slowing his pace and then walking beside him singing in an off key voice that hurt his sensitive ears. She found every bush, weed, and flower so interesting she had to stop and call Rin over to examine the plant. This sudden interest in every plant in their path caused his pace to slow because Rin would then call him to tell her what kind of plant it was or just caused him to slow his pace so she would not fall behind. Her latest trick though was the most annoying. Mitsuko would tell Sesshomaru she believed Rin needed a break for various reasons. Sesshomaru gave her a disbelieving look and turned to speak to Rin "Rin are you tired? Do you feel the need to rest?"

"No Sesshomaru-sama. Rin is fine." The child responded with complete trust in her protector.

"Who are you going to believe Sesshomaru? The child who adores you or the person you bought to take care of her?" Mitsuko asked with faked innocence. Sesshomaru would then stop to allow Rin to rest. Rin would spend the resting period running around gathering flowers for her Sesshomaru-sama's sash.

By the third rest period Sesshomaru's sash looked as if it had just started sprouting flowers. In an attempt to pick a brilliant purple flower for Sesshomaru, Rin fell forward into a patch of mud. Jaken, who was beside Rin, was also covered in mud. He looked at Rin and said "Come Rin. We will go to the stream and rinse the mud from us." Rin smiled at Jaken and accompanied the toad to the stream.

Mitsuko watched the child and youkai walk away. She did not think her threat to Jaken this morning would make the toad change his ways. Perhaps he did have feelings for the child that… before she could finish her thought Mitsuko was pressed with her back to a tree and a set of deadly claws wrapped around her throat. She was held high enough she could look directly into a pair of cold golden eyes. He held her life literally in his hand and yet he showed no emotion. Mitsuko could feel her heart beating against his palm. Her breath came in short gasps he was only allowing her enough breathe to stay conscious.

"You will stop these games. If you do not stop these games I will kill you. I can find another human female to teach Rin. Your life is in my hands." With this statement Sesshomaru dropped Mitsuko to the ground. Her hand flew to her throat to check for any wounds when she found none she looked at Sesshomaru.

"Why? Why are doing this to me?" Sesshomaru turned to look at her when she questioned him. The cold mask never left his face as he answered.

"You are here because you are what Rin needs. As long as you prove your usefulness I will allow you to live. You will be fed, protected, and clothed."

"I don't like you youkai but I want to live. So, I'll take care of Rin but I will NOT be happy about it. I will not perform any "services" for you." Sesshomaru looked at her as if he had just been offended.

"You have nothing to worry about HUMAN. I have no needs you could fulfill in that area. However, you will perform other tasks for me." Sesshomaru turned towards the stream. "This discussion is over. Rin is returning."

After a run in with Sesshomaru's claws Mitsuko took up a place behind Jaken and Rin. She did not wish to anger the youkai anymore today.

To Sesshomaru's great relief the rest of the day passed much as it had before Mitsuko had joined his small group. Rin and Jaken talked behind him and he was allowed to walk on in silence.

The only thing Mitsuko was concerned about were these other tasks Sesshomaru had mentioned. What would the youkai require of her?

She received her first taste of the other tasks when they made camp that night. Jaken began gathering wood, Mitsuko and Rin began to lay out bedrolls, and Sesshomaru disappeared into the forest. Mitsuko's companions did not seem to notice his absence nor did they show any concern for his absence. She soon understood why when Sesshomaru returned to camp with three skinned rabbits. Sesshomaru walked towards Mitsuko where he dropped the three skinned rabbits into her lap. He clearly implied she was to cook the rabbits. As she began to cook the rabbits, Sesshomaru removed his armor and laid it at her feet to. When she looked at him he merely said "The armor needs cleaned and oiled. You will do this tonight as you cook. Rim's kimono and my clothing needs to be washed you will do this after you eat." Apparently Sesshomaru's plan was to work her to her grave.

The armor lay in a shining well oiled heap, the rabbits were devoured, and Jaken was settling in for the night. A clean sleepy Rin was wrapped up in her bedroll already sound asleep. Mitsuko was prepared to fall into her blankets as well but she still had to wash Rin's kimono and all of Sesshomaru's perfectly white clothes. How she was going to wash his clothes was a mystery because he was still wearing them.

Sesshomaru stood up and addressed her "You will accompany me to the river." Mitsuko brought along Rin's kimono. Once they reached the river Sesshomaru began to remove his clothes. Mitsuko's sharp intake of breathe caused Sesshomaru to look at her with disdain.

"You are washing my clothing. The only way to wash them is if I remove them. While you wash my clothes I will bathe." Mitsuko watched as the last of the pristine white garments was handed to her and a perfectly formed and sculpted body came into view. He was absolutely the best looking male she had ever seen. He was not only beautiful but he still kept his air of deadly menace and complete superiority even completely naked. Mitsuko watched as he submerged himself under the water and then shook herself back to sanity. She could not sit and stare at the tai-youkai like that when he was completely naked. She began to wash his clothes and Rin's kimono. She was just finishing laying his clothes out to dry when Sesshomaru loomed above her and dripped some water onto her.

"Your clothes will be dry in a few minutes. I'll just head back to camp." As she walked away Sesshomaru noticed her unease around him. He was curious why she of all people would be uneasy. He had thought she would have been back to her annoying self by now but so far she had been the perfect little human not even annoying him a little.

Because of his curiosity he called to her "Mitsuko, stay. You may comb my hair until it dries." Mitsuko looked at the shining mass of spun silver and wanted to turn and run. It would take at least thirty minutes for of that hair to dry she did not know if she would be able to stay that close to a very naked very appealing Sesshomaru. He raised a brow at her and motioned to the outcropping of rocks he was sitting on. Mitsuko walked to him and searched for a way to climb onto the rocks and sit behind him and comb out his hair. Sesshomaru noticing her dilemma lifted her onto the rocks and handed her a simple comb inset with a crescent moon.

Mitsuko let out a breath and very gently began to comb out the long silver tresses. As she combed his hair she ran her free hand through his hair to ensure she did not pull his hair. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and if he had not been in completely control of his reactions he would have let a small growl of pleasure emit from his throat. Sesshomaru was surprised by his reaction but what brought his eyes open and surprised him the most was her reaction. He sniffed the air and beneath the scent of uncertainty and fear there was something stronger and much more potent. Sesshomaru could smell her desire. She was completely unaware her body was responding this way to his body. All she knew was her body was acting strangely around the youkai.

Sesshomaru smirked to himself. Apparently Mitsuko had not had any real experience with men. This was an interesting development.

"Your hair is dry Sesshomaru-sama. I will go back to camp. Your clothes should also be dry." Mitsuko did not understand what was wrong with her. She was out of breathe and having a hard time putting her words together. She quickly crawled beneath her blankets and settled in for sleep.

Sesshomaru came back to camp and settled near Rin. His golden eyes fell upon Mitsuko and rested there for most of the night. Once again the great Lord Sesshomaru spent the night lost inside his own thoughts.

Author's note

A much longer chapter but once I started writing I could not stop. Thank you to all of my reviewers. Please keep reviewing!


	6. Meeting the Family

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters. However, Mitsuko is of my own imagination and I own all rights to her.

Chapter 6 Meeting the Family

And so the little group continued on in a sort of limbo for the length of a moon. Mitsuko always walked to the back of the group. She kept to her self, took care of Rin, and did any little tasks Sesshomaru deemed important. Jaken and Ah Un could feel the tension in the air between Mitsuko and Sesshomaru and were waiting for the final battle between the two. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was silently enjoying watching Mitsuko wriggle around and try to stay out of his way. The little human was proving to be quite entertaining to the great taiyoukai.

As he walked, Sesshomaru thought back to the night before when he had brushed his claws across her hand. She had jumped so quickly and so far she very nearly leapt into the fire. The edge of her kimono had been smoldering when she stood up. Inside Sesshomaru had laughed at her look of complete surprise and uncertainty.

Coming back to the present, Sesshomaru sniffed the air with a delicate sniff. A human village was just over the next hill. He went over their provisions in his mind. They needed rice; Rin needed a new kimono, and other small things that amused a little girl. He liked to buy her the small things that made her happy because she had never had them before. With the thought of pleasing Rin, Sesshomaru made up his mind to pass through the village. He did not need to say anything to his companions they would know what to do. He merely had to stay near them to ensure no one tried to take advantage of them in any way.

As the group entered the village, Sesshomaru noticed Mitsuko put her hands up to her hair and then run them down her own shabby, threadbare, and faded kimono. Her hair had begun to grow but was still much too short for society. Perhaps he would allow Mitsuko to purchase a new kimono and some combs for her hair. For some strange reason the thought of making Mitsuko happy for a moment made Sesshomaru smile inside.

The village was full of happy, harassed, and hurried mothers shepherding their energetic children through the market place. Women and men were selling their wares in small stalls hung with brightly colored cloth, while shoppers haggled with the stall keepers about price and quantity. The whole area carried a happy aura. Even the presence of Sesshomaru's group did not dampen that aura. The people merely stepped politely out of their way and made small bows of respect to Sesshomaru. This particular village had learned long ago how to keep a youkai from destroying their village. The only way to keep a youkai happy was to treat them with great respect and usually the youkai left the village in peace.

Sesshomaru moved between the stalls stopping whenever one of his companions stopped to look at a certain stall. Soon the group had made all of their purchases concerning food and other essentials. Sesshomaru then began to walk purposefully to a stall containing fine silk and kimonos. Rin looked at all of the brightly colored kimonos looking for that one perfect kimono. While Rin looked for a kimono, Mitsuko examined some made of the finest silk. She soon found one that she fell in love with. It was a light blue background with dark cerulean flowers embroidered on the wide sleeves and flaring hem. The sash was also a cerulean color and tied in a wide bow at the wearers back. The under clothes were of the most pristine white and had the same cerulean flowers embroidered on the flowing sleeves and wide hem. Mitsuko had never seen anything so beautiful and soon replaced the kimono and turned at Rins squeal of delight. She had found a pretty orange kimono with little flowers on the hem that angled up to the waist. Rin turned the most pleading eyes upon Sesshomaru, silently asking him for the kimono. When he agreed, Mitsuko was astonished. The kimono was expensive and Rin would only tear it and stain it in her endless innocent quest for flowers. The thought of the cost did not seem to matter to the great taiyoukai though nor did the little combs Rin chose to go with her kimono. What astonished Mitsuko was when Sesshomaru ordered the light blue kimono and a set of white hair combs inset with blue jewels for her. She could not believe he would buy her such an expensive kimono but he just had.

Sesshomaru turned to Rin and Mitsuko and handed them their new kimonos. "Go and change behind the curtain." It was one of his "I don't care if you do this or not but do not waste my time" commands. Sesshomaru waited while his two females changed and was not disappointed. Rin looked like a little ray of sunshine and was extremely happy with her new clothes. Mitsuko looked angelic in her new clothes and would have many human males following after her. Sesshomaru would have to be careful or they would take advantage of her.

The little group left the village just as peacefully as they had entered it and began their long walk again. Sesshomaru saw out of the corner of his eye that Mitsuko ran her hand alone her hip and up her waist slightly feeling the soft whisper of the silk under her hand. The picture gave Sesshomaru too many ideas and he turned his head and quickened the pace just slightly.

The day continued to wear on in peaceful silence. Mitsuko heard something ahead of them at midday. She heard voices and some very irate voices at that.

"Kagome, speed up. Stupid human you're slowing me down." The voice of a young male came to Mitsuko's ears. At the sound of the voice Sesshomaru sped ahead leaving them all behind. Jaken and Rin did not seem to be concerned about his leaving and them and continued to walk on.

When Mitsuko reached Sesshomaru, what she saw amazed her. Sesshomaru was fighting with a young male who had long white hair and were those dog ears? He was a hanyou. He also resembled Sesshomaru the two were obviously brothers. Mitsuko looked at the battle before her with disbelief on her face. Why would Sesshomaru fight his own brother?

"Hi. My name is Kagome. This is Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara." Mitsuko looked into the young girls welcoming face and then looked into the faces of Kagomes' friends.

"What is going on? Why are they fighting?" Mitsuko was very confused.

"Because they hate each other." All four of the companions said in unison.

As Mitsuko watched the battle, she realized she was getting some joy out of watching the hanyou battle Sesshomaru. Granted he was not doing any damage but he was making Sesshomaru work for every hit. Mitsuko soon found herself rooting for the hanyou, Inuyasha. The battle was not very even; so far Inuyasha had not hit Sesshomaru once.

Before the spectators' eyes, though Inuyasha swung back the Tetsaiga and charged Sesshomaru with a mighty roar. Sesshomaru thought Inuyasha meant to attack him head on but at the last minute Inuyasha struck Sesshomaru from the side and buried Tetsaiga into his brothers' side. No emotion crossed Sesshomarus face at the wound but he drew back from his brother. He needed to think about this. He ended the battle with his brother quickly.

Sesshomaru spoke to his brother who was lying on the ground bleeding "You have improved slightly little brother. You are still inept with your sword." Sesshomaru turned and walked away from the battle ground. His companions followed behind him.

"Who was the human female?" Inuyasha questioned.

"We're not for sure. She never gave us her name." Miroku was slightly upset with himself because he did not even get her name or where she was from.

Jaken had a fire burning gaily. Rin was already asleep and Sesshomaru was off alone. No one seemed to mind that he was seriously wounded and not with the group. Mitsuko stood and walked off in the direction Sesshomaru had taken. She found him not far from them. He glared at her and ordered her back to camp.

Mitsuko did not want to leave him. He looked like he was in great pain. So, she sat down a short distance from him. She was going to sit and watch him all night to make sure he was all right. All night turned into only fifteen minutes though as her eyes drifted closed and she fell into a deep sleep.

Sesshomaru watched her sleep for a moment and then glanced up at the moon. He spent the rest of the night in slight repose healing himself. His brother was coming along fine in his training with his sword. Their father would be pleased.

Authors' Note

More chapters will be coming much quicker now.

Lady Morganna


	7. Chapter 7 Sex as a Weapon

Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters.

To all my reviewers, thank you!

To all who read but don't review, Please do!

Words in italics are thoughts.

Pairings: Sesshomaru/ Mitsuko

This story will contain lemon in future chapters, so be warned!

This chapter can be blamed on a trip with my sister listening to Pat Benatar. The lyrics used in this story are from the song _Sex as a Weapon_. The lyrics will be in italics and underlined to separate them from the story.

Chapter Seven Sex as a Weapon

Mitsuko awoke to the sun shining brightly in the trees. Looking quickly, she noticed Sesshomaru was nowhere to be seen. _I wonder where he is. Surely he did not just get up and not tell me. _When Mitsuko realized Sesshomaru had done exactly that. Anger swelled up inside her. Why would he do that after she had spent the night sleeping in the cold to make sure he was alright? Why? Because he was nothing more then a cold hearted beast, well it was defiantly time for the beast to come to his knees. Today she would truly give Sesshomaru hell. No more would she act different around him. She did not understand her body lately; it seemed to desire the control of the inu while her mind screamed to be free of him. Well her mind was back in control and now Sesshomaru would pay. Mitsuko walked back to the others with that smirk on her face again not knowing a pair of golden eyes watched her.

Sesshomaru groaned to himself. It would appear he would have another miserable day because the human was upset with him. He was going to have to teach her her place today.

Two figures walked back to join the others of their group. Both were plotting the downfall of the other in various ways, one slightly bloodier then the other. Neither one knew they would each contribute to their own downfall. Neither could bring the other to their knees, but they would bring themselves to their knees before this battle was over. Mitsuko believed herself to be supreme in the way all females do simply because her opponent was in her words "an ignorant male". While Sesshomaru believed himself to be immune to the human and her charms, both would have to come to terms with their own failings. This was going to be a day for the fates and gods amusement.

They had been walking for half the day; Sesshomaru was still waiting for the human to say something. He was becoming very nervous. He remembered his mother not talking to his father for a few days, when she did speak to him his father got the surprise of his life. His young mate had taken his once powerful and feared army from the fierce black and red haori's and spiked amour and make them into the joke of all four lands. When Inu Tashio went to check on his army one morning he found them all wearing flower printed kimono's with flower wreaths in their hair. Their amour was gone and their weapons were replaced with delicate sewing needles and material. It was very amusing watching war hardened youkai try to please their lady by doing needlepoint but it was also a blow to his fathers' pride. The Lady of the Western Lands soon got her wish and was no longer required to do needlepoint.

He felt her presence at his side; looking at her under the fall of a silver cascade he could see she wanted to say something.

"What is it human?" Keeping his voice distant he managed to not let her know of his nervousness.

"Oh, I was just wondering who the hanyou was from yesterday." Mitsuko asked with a bit of a sweet smile. As soon as Sesshomaru saw that smile he was lost. He never thought to question why she would want to know.

"He is my half brother, Inuyasha. He is weak and should not draw breath." This seemed to be the perfect answer to Sesshomaru.

"Oh." Mitsuko exclaimed innocently. Sesshomaru patted himself on the back he had not given her any reason to attack him with her vipers tongue. He was sadly mistaken.

"So Fluffy if he is so weak how did he manage to attack you?" Sesshomaru stopped walking completely at her audacity. _She would die for insinuating he, the great Sesshomaru was weak. And calling him Fluffy, was grounds for dismemberment. _Sesshomaru cracked his knuckles. Mitsuko never stopped walking she smirked to herself _Didn't like that did you? Well Fluffy here comes another one for you lets see if you like this even more!_

"Oh and Fluffy if he does not deserve to breathe but he wounded you does that mean you do not deserve to breathe?" _She has just signed her own death warrant. _More knuckle cracking could be heard behind her. She had really upset him comparing him to his half brother. She would have to remember this for later. She could think of many ways to torture Fluffy with his brother.

Sesshomaru calmed himself. There were other ways besides death for the little human to pay. Her traitorous body would be his perfect accomplice in his revenge. Oh yes, she would regret comparing him to his brother. He would show her how they were different.

Mitsuko was surprised besides cracking his knuckles Sesshomaru had not responded at all. He had merely walked ahead of her and told them to pick up the pace he smelled a hot spring.

"You HUMAN could use a bath. You smell foul." Sesshomaru directed his words at Mitsuko. _So, we are not calling each other by name now Lord I've got a stick up my ass. Very well you shall be Fluffy from now on or Inuyasha's Brother. That really ought to piss you off. _Mitsuko smiled to herself. She did not know that each silent smirk brought her closer to her punishment.

Camp was made quickly. Rin was yawning half way through her rice and was soon settled into her bedding. Jaken soon followed the little girl in her quest for sleep and began snoring loudly. Mitsuko stood and took her bathing supplies and headed for the hot springs. Maybe she would get a little bit of peace and quiet while she was there. Warring with Sesshomaru was mentally very taxing.

Sesshomaru watched from the treetops as Mitsuko bathed. He would wait until she had bathed to carry out her punishment. Sesshomaru pushed the odd feelings he had away. For some reason his heart had picked up speed and was pounding, a rush of excitement was flowing through his blood. He shook his head and ignored these feelings instead concentrating on the young female climbing out of the hot springs.

Mitsuko was reaching for her undergarments when a silver blur landed in front of her and made her gasp in fear. She was bent over and looking at a pair of legs covered in fine pristine silk. She let her gaze travel up past the trim looking waist, past the wide muscled chest that begged for someone to lay their head upon it in complete trust, past the expanse of shoulders and the well toned arms meant to hold someone to that wonderful chest. Her gaze continued up past a stubborn chin, to incredibly lush lips made to take girls breath away, past the aristocratic nose, and stopped at a pair of shining golden eyes. Mitsuko saw something flicker deep with in them for a moment the gold faded to a slight red color.

_You really do know how to strut that stuff  
You really do know how to act tough   
Your body's just like a centerfold  
A fantasy, anyone would want to hold  
_

Mitsuko's eyes grew wide and did the only thing any naked human female would do when confronted by a youkai. She forgot about her clothes, forgot she was completely naked and listened to the voice in her head screaming _RUN! RUN NOW! DON'T LOOK BACK! JUST RUN!_ In an instant she was gone as fast as her human legs could carry her. Something inside of Sesshomaru smiled wickedly, the chase was half the fun. He took off after her using his youkai speed. He soon caught up to her but instead of catching her just as easily he played with his prey a bit. He would gain on her breathing on her neck and then fall back letting her feel more secure.

Her muscles screamed for release from the running all she wanted to do was stop. If she stopped she did not know what Sesshomaru would do to her.

_With looks that kill and a mind that's twisted  
I don't know why I can't resist it  
I tell myself look the other way  
When you want me to  
I, I always stay_

Sesshomaru could smell her weariness. He did want her to tired for the next bit of her punishment. Sesshomaru smirked to himself. With one mighty leap Sesshomaru pounced onto the human female. Mitsuko landed with a heavy thud. She instantly began to thrash about and take swipes at Sesshomaru. He merely laughed at her puny attempts. Her small wrists were soon wrapped in a too strong clawed hand and drawn over her head. She struggled desperately. The youkai merely found this amusing.

Leaning down Sesshomaru nuzzled his nose and soft lips into the soft skin of her neck. Mitsuko drew in her breath raggedly. _What was he doing? _Sesshomaru slid one of his clawed hands down her naked arm, his clawed fingers played lightly over the frantic pulse in her neck. Those same claws ran down her shoulder, along the curve of her breast, and to the gentle flare of her hip. Mitsuko could not seem to think of anything except where he was going to run his hand next. Sesshomaru smirked.

_You know you're already my obsession  
Stop using sex as a weapon  
Love is more than a one way reflection  
Stop using sex as a weapon_

Sesshomaru moved his lips from her neck to her lips in a crushing kiss. She was swamped by him he was running his tongue along her lips demanding entrance. When she refused, he nipped her lip with his fangs drawing blood. She gasped instantly in pain. Sesshomaru took his opportunity. Her blood bathed his tongue and fueled his inner demon.

_You play with desire like it was a toy  
How much affection can you destroy?  
You wrap my heart around your little finger  
Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex, sex as a weapon_

Sesshomaru took a deep breath and stood up. He turned and walked away from her leaving her lying in the dirt. She felt used and more dirty then her father had ever made her with his schemes to get sake. Mitsuko curled into a ball and cried.

Sesshomaru smelled salt on the air and smirked to himself the female had learned her lesson. The troubling part was not her crying it was his reaction to the female. His inner demon was screaming at him demanding him to take the female as his mate. This was a most perplexing dilemma. His inner demon should only want the most powerful female as its mate. It had never shown an interest in any other female. Why now? Why this female?


	8. Mitsuko's Fire

Disclaimer-I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters, sadly!

Mitsuko's Fire

She laid where he had left her for a very long time, crying softly to herself. Her father had often made her feel worthless and like an object to gain money to buy sake with. He had sold her out to several establishments to be a serving girl to earn money, she had been a maid when he needed money, and done laundry when he was desperate for the drink.

However the worst thing her father had ever done to her was when he sold her for the night to a solider. This time was different from the others, this time her father had been without the horrible sake for two weeks and he was becoming abusive both emotionally and physically. Her mother suffered at his hands as did she. They protected the younger ones from his anger but that night she could not protect herself. She remembered the horrible stench of the solider and the way his calloused hands had broken her and beaten her. She remembered what it felt like to be forced to give of her body against her will. After she was returned to her family the next morning, she vowed to herself she would never be treated that way by any man again nor would she think about that rain drenched meadow outside of the village that smelled of the bloody battle that had occurred that afternoon. She had not thought of that night in a very long time and now one very cold male had made her remember how weak and unable to defend herself she was. That same male also made her remember a promise she made to herself. She would survive. No matter what she had to do she would live even if she had to kick, scream, bite, maim, and kill. She would walk away. What was that old adage? That which does not kill me only makes me stronger. Well Mitsuko only kept getting stronger in her life.

Sesshomaru stopped his walk back to camp and waited for the female to join him. She still lay in the dirt where he had left her. That was unusual he expected the female to be on his back right now screaming into his tender ears and attempting to rip his back to shreds. But no, she lay curled into a ball in the dirt as if she had been defeated. Sesshomaru thought about the feelings that had been running amuck through his body the last five minutes. There had been lust for the female, he had wanted her desperately. His inner beast called out for him to take the little one and be done with it but he would not succumb to his inner beast. He was honorable and there was no honor in taking what was not offered. Forcing a female may have soothed the beast but it would have tormented the man. Then there had been the surprise at the girl's lack of spirit and now there was a raging anger. She was fiery and had an amazing will to live he would not stand by and watch her die. Allowing such a spirit to die would have been a crime against himself. He had a deep understanding of wanting to live and he would not see the flame extinguished in another being because of him. Sesshomaru turned and began the short walk back to the girl.

He expected to meet a defeated ningen at the end of his journey. Instead he meet a raging wildcat, striking out in anger and pain. She came at him from seemingly nowhere and slammed her petite body into his rock hard frame. Sesshomaru took a step back to lessen the force of the impact on the female. She was on him in an instant. Mitsuko struck at his face with her nails and managed to dig a ragged red line underneath Sesshomaru's maroon stripes. He did nothing, merely looked at her and allowed her to attack him. He would sidestep whenever he sensed she would do damage to herself during her attack. During one of these sidesteps, Mitsuko pulled Tojokin from Sesshomaru's obi. Sesshomaru's golden orbs widen fractionally in surprise. Tojokin was a heavy, overpowering demonic sword. Sesshomaru had to constantly assert his dominance over the sword and yet here she stood a mere slip of a ningen girl holding the deadly sword. Tojokin did not even flare up and seemed to allow the girl to wield it. This was something for the taiyoukai to think about; however, now was not the time. Mitsuko had just swung Tojokin wildly at him and had very nearly lodged the sword in is heart if he had not moved in the blink of an eye.

She was tiring, her voice was hoarse from all of the screaming she had done, her body cried out for release from its torment. Mitsuko felt the sword slip from her limp fingers and fall heavily to the ground. Her vision began to shimmer before her eyes. Sesshomaru seemed to waving from side to side and floating towards her all at the same time. Her knees buckled and she felt herself falling to the ground in a heap of dirty silk, wild hair, and a new belief in herself. Just before she hit the ground, Mitsuko felt a strong arm wrap itself around her waist and cradle her to an extremely warm and reassuring body. She felt safe and protected and utterly feminine.

Sesshomaru laid the female on the ground gently and picked up his demonic sword. Replacing the blade in his obi, Sesshomaru glanced to the female and was relieved her fiery nature and will to survive was once again in evidence. He knelt next to the girl and lifted her gently to rest against his chest. Walking towards camp, Sesshomaru thought upon his next actions. With some training the female would be able to protect herself and Rin adequately.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Rin has missed you. What happened to Mitsuko? Is she all right?" Rin was extremely worried; she had become attached to the woman in such a short amount of time.

"She is merely sleeping Rin. She needs to rest you are not to disturb her. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sesshomaru-sama." Obeying him was second nature to the young girl. Often obeying the taiyoukai meant life or death and Rin had learned early to follow all orders. Sesshomaru often thought of her as "his good little warrior". But he only did this in his head and only when she weakened him with instant obedience.

Sesshomaru laid Mitsuko down in the circle of Ah Un's tail and covered her with his fluffy boa.

"Jaken, find a sword smith and have a blade made that is suitable for a ningen female." Jaken looked at his master in confusion and wondered at his sanity. Why put a sword in the hands of a woman who had already caused him some minor damage. Looking at his master Jaken could see the small red lacerations were nearly healed. Jaken had seem other beings killed just for drawing a small amount of Sesshomaru's blood and yet the females heart still beats in her chest and would apparently continue to do so for a while yet. Jaken shook his head and glanced back one more time at camp before heading out to do his masters bidding. What he saw made him doubt his own sanity.

Sesshomaru kneeled beside the girl. The moon played and chased shadows across his pale face like a delicate caress, while his pale hand wiped the dirt and grime from Mitsuko's face delicately with a piece of silk torn from his inner hoari. His shadow was cast over Mitsuko's small frame and seemed to cover the girl with his youkai, adding a sense of protection and casting the girl in shadow. It looked to Jaken like a youkai protecting his soul mate. Jaken shook his head and hoped his master was not getting to soft with the humans. Jaken trudged away to carry out his mission.

Authors Note

Okay here is the next chapter to _Learning to Live. _This chapter is dedicated to Nilee and Gothic-ember, these were the only two people even read this chapter in the last month. Thank you both so much and I hope you like the latest installment to this unwilling to be written story.

Lady Morganna


	9. A New Begining

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters. If I did you would never see Sesshomaru again!

A New Beginning

Okay here is the next chapter of Learning to Live. I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is dedicated to Silver Sliver. Thank you for reviewing. Your review helped me get motivated to finish this chapter. To whoever reads this chapter, there is a small, tiny, little

surprise for you. Here's a hint: there is a reason this story is rated M. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Enjoy,

Lady Morganna

The light began to swirl in a kaleidoscope of colors behind her eyes. The dominant color was bright yellow and seemed to beckon her into beginning her new day. She wanted to push her head under her blanket and never get up, but someone had a different idea. Her shoulder was grasped in a cool hand and shaken gently to rouse her from dreamland. Peeking open one shimmering chocolate eye, she glared up into perfectly golden orbs staring at her with coolness.

"Come" somehow he managed to tick her off before she even left her blanket in the morning. Really who did he think he was ordering her around with that superior tone of voice so damn early in the morning? He turned and looked at her with an uninterested golden stare. Sighing she pulled herself from her blanket and followed him deeper into the forest. He brought her to a small clearing. Mitsuko raised one eyebrow and looked at the taciturn youkai wondering what he was doing. Had he brought her here to kill her?

In the next instant she believed he had, because he pulled a small delicate sword from his obi. He was moving towards her the sword tip was pointed at the ground; however, Mitsuko began to wonder if she had pushed her luck yesterday by attacking him. Sesshomaru came to stop directly in front of her. He raised the sword and held the blade in his hand. Mitsuko's eyes widened until they filled her face. He was handing the sword to her. Placing her pale hand around the hilt Mitsuko took the sword from him and very nearly dropped it right onto her foot. If Sesshomaru had not wrapped his hand around hers on the hilt she would have lost a toe!

"It is much lighter than a sword normally is; however, it is still very heavy. You will train with this sword for an hour every day and an hour every night. Once we reach my castle you will train three times a day for an hour each. You will become proficient with the sword." He said all of this without releasing her hand.

"You will begin your practice by holding the sword above your head for one hour straight. If the blade falls your hour begins again. You must be able to lift the sword to use the sword."

Watching Sesshomaru move to sit beneath a tree, one word came to Mitsuko's mind, "WHY?" She instantly regretted saying anything. Here was her chance to learn to defend herself properly and she was throwing it away by annoying the most dangerous youkai she had ever met.

"I will train you because you will be Rin's human mother and she needs a mother who can protect her. You showed ability and an innate desire to live that is the best place to start when training yourself. Now you must begin your physical training. Come begin." She knew instantly this was not going to be easy he would expect perfection and she would do anything to learn to fight and protect herself. Swallowing she lifted the sword above her head and prepared her body to take the physical beating it was going to get.

Three hours passed and still the taiyoukai reclined under his tree watching the human fight her body. Sweat ran down her cheeks and dripped upon her heaving breasts. The heavy outer kimono had been discarded and only her thin inner kimono was left. The thin kimono clung to her curves and looked highly uncomfortable. She had pushed her lengthening hair back from her face and it now hung in sweat drenched tendrils around her flushed face. She held the sword above her head with trembling arms. She just wanted to lay the sword down and rest. She knew though if she laid the sword down Sesshomaru would not go on with her training until she did hold the sword above her head for an hour, so she pushed herself forward.

Sesshomaru pulled himself up and walked towards the girl. He removed the sword from her numb fingers gently. Mitsuko began to lower her arms but sucked in a harsh breathe of air as the blood began to rush down to her fingers. She stopped lowering her arms and merely stood there rooted to the spot. Sesshomaru slipped the sword into his obi and raised his cool hands to Mitsuko's arms and began to rub them to help the blood begin to flow back into them. Soon she was able to lower her arms; she began to trudge back to camp behind the taiyoukai.

Rin had finally played Jaken to his death. He was lying in the grass doing his best at playing dead so the little girl would leave him alone for a short period of time. He really was tired. He could sense Sesshomaru and the human coming back from the forest. He jumped to his feet and ran to bow at his lords' feet.

"We will leave now Jaken." Jaken jumped to his feet and ran towards the two headed dragon preparing him for the journey. Mitsuko merely looked at Sesshomaru with disbelief. He was going to make her walk after making her hold a sword above her head for the entire morning. Well she would just have to prove to him she was strong and could take the physical training. She fell into line behind the dragon and soon decided to walk beside the great beast. His smell was getting worse. She now understood why Sesshomaru walked at the head of the group and everyone else walked behind him. Well okay there were two reasons he did not want to smell the dragon and he wanted everyone to know he was the boss.

They walked until the sun began to set in the West and throw a blanket of blazing red over the land. Mitsuko's leg muscles were pulsing and her eyes were drooping. She could barely support her own weight anymore. All she wanted to do was slip into the oblivion of sleep. Sesshomaru turned when he heard a soft thump behind him. He once again saw Mitsuko in a pile of silk on the ground. She was exhausted and could go no further. Rin was sleepily sitting on the great dragon and looked at him with heavy lidded eyes.

"Jaken we will set up camp here there is a hot spring nearby. Prepare Rin's meal and put her to bed. I will take the human to the spring." Kneeling down Sesshomaru picked Mitsuko up and cradled her against his chest. He walked regally into the darkening forest and walked towards a small patch of grass. Laying the human down, Sesshomaru lifted her kimono above her knees. He ran his hands up her legs and felt every twitch of her overexerted muscles. She needed to relax her muscles or she would spend the entire night writhing in agony. The best way to get her muscles to relax was to set her into the spring; however, the girl showed no sign of waking even when Sesshomaru shook her gently. Sighing the taiyoukai accepted his fate. Glancing down at Mitsuko, Sesshomaru thought he would enjoy this slightly more than he thought.

Kneeling next to the girl, Sesshomaru loosened the bow of her obi. He slipped the slick silk of her outer kimono off her shoulders. Pulling her arms through the silken sleeves, he left her in nothing but her thin inner kimono. That would have to be discarded to. He carefully unwrapped the kimono from her body and pulled her arms from the sleeves. Glancing down at the girl, Sesshomaru smirked no he would defiantly enjoy this experience. Her skin had a slight golden color to it. She had obviously bathed outdoors before.

Leaving the girl on the ground Sesshomaru discarded his own clothes in a pristine white heap on the grass. Leaning down, Sesshomaru lifted the girl against his bare chest. He stepped into the warm water and sank into the warmth. Sesshomaru leaned his back against the edge of the hot spring and sat the girl in front of him on his lap. He wrapped an arm around her waist securely and leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. Sesshomaru allowed the warmth of the water to seep into his body, closing his eyes and he settled back to relax.

The next half hour the youkai spent in a deep meditation. His meditation was interrupted by an unexpected reaction to the girl. She was beginning to wake and was squirming in his lap. A rush of blood to his loins soon had the taiyoukai growling low in his throat. Mitsuko was caught in the most wonderful dream. She was wrapped up in the safest warmest arms and she had never felt more precious, her dream became a reality when her eyes snapped open at the sudden growling behind her. She raised her head and turned slightly to see Sesshomaru behind her. She gasped and went too slid away from him only to discover she was tied to him by his steel band arms. Looking into his eyes, she realized his golden orbs were bleeding red. Instant fear flooded her and made her heart beat like a wild bird in the cage of her chest. Sesshomaru smelled her fear and heard her heart rate pick up and his eyes bleed even more red as he became more and more aroused by the little human in his lap.

"Sesshomaru let me go. You don't want to do this. Let me go." Mitsuko tried to pull herself from his arms but only succeeded in slipping down his chest.

Sesshomaru could smell her need to run away and decided to play with the female a little. He released her and allowed her to rush to the other side of the hot spring. Mitsuko instantly began to climb from the spring. Sesshomaru merely smirked at her.

"Are you really going to climb out of here naked in front of me?" Mitsuko slammed into the water and created a small tidal wave. Turning toward the taiyoukai, Mitsuko's eyes rounded and began to search quickly for her clothes. She would put them on in the water and then run as far away from him as fast as she could. She glanced toward him and nearly had a heart attack right then. He was absolute perfection, a god even among youkais. He was leaning against the side of the hot spring one leg drawn up the water lapping at his stomach. He rested one arm on his upraised knee. His silver hair floated around him in the water and seemed to be reaching toward her to pull her back to him. Small droplets of water ran in rivulets down his hard muscled packed chest. She watched on small drop of water run all the way from his shoulder, down over his sculpted pectoral muscles, down the muscled plane of his stomach and into the beginning of a silver dusting of hair. Mitsuko licked her dry lips and began to frantically search for a way to escape the youkai. He knew how to display his body to show its perfection and she was beginning to have difficulty breathing. He looked like a great reclining predator waiting for its prey to make its choice between flight or fight. He was sure she would try to run until she was cornered and then she would turn and fight. When she turned to fight, that was when the youkai in him would cry for its release. The inu in him wanted her to fight, wanted a strong willed female to stand up against him and defy him. It did not want a female to simper and fall at his feet and give in so easy. The youkai in him knew she would give him the fight he desired. All he had to do was wait for her to make her move.

Mitsuko trained her eyes on him once again and saw the predatory gleam in them. She had to go now she didn't care if he saw her naked or not. Turning around quickly, Mitsuko lifted herself out of the hot spring and started to run into the forest. She ran until her lungs were about to burst form the loss of oxygen but she never escaped him. He was always right behind her, breathing on her neck. He would speed up and then slow down like she was the mouse and he was cat. She knew eventually she would be caught and then she would relieve a horrible experience except this time it would be worse. Suddenly she was caught around the waste and tossed gently to the ground. Before she even touched the ground, Sesshomaru was above her. Looking up at him, all Mitsuko could see were his once golden eyes bleed completely red.

She began to cry she could not fight him off and she would not be able to ignore whatever he did to her body. Sesshomaru smelled the salt of her tears and felt her chest slamming into his chest with every breath she took. The inu in him was not going to give up on having the female; however, it was distressed at the girls fear. The first thing the inu would have to do was to calm the girl. He would not harm her; he merely wanted to be with the female in the closest way possible. Sesshomaru nuzzled his nose into Mitsukos hair and took in her clean fresh scent. Sesshomaru stroked long cool fingers from the tip of her chin to the base of her throat where her pulse beat erratically just beneath her skin. He continued to stroke her neck until her breathing calmed down and she was no longer crying. He began to place small kisses along her jaw trailing to her lips. Once he reached her lips, he places a cool light kiss upon her warm lips. Sniffing lightly, Mitsuko began to respond to the taiyoukai's kiss. She was hesitant and unsure of herself. Sesshomaru's inu growled for release. The female was going to drive him insane. She was so innocent and the inu loved the innocent response she was giving him. He began to stroke his hand from the flare of her hip to the curve of her breast. Mitsuko drew in a quick breathe and began to writhe beneath him.

Sesshomaru growled low in his throat at her movements. He could not wait much longer the female would have to understand his need.

"Mitsuko. This must be quick. It may hurt slightly. Do not become afraid." At his words, Mitsuko's eyes began to tear up. It would not hurt for her, her innocence was lost to a brute in a rain soaked field instead of to this shining Adonis above her who had been gentle with her.

"Do not cry Mitsuko. I know you are no longer innocent. However, it will still hurt. I am youkai. You must tell me if it becomes too painful." Mitsuko merely looked at him in confusion.

As soon as Sesshomaru slipped inside of her, she instantly understood what he had been trying to tell her. It felt as if he were going to tear her in two. She began to push from under him with her legs to escape the pain. Sesshomaru grabbed her hips and would not release her. He knew she was in pain; however, it would pass. As she realized Sesshomaru was not going to release her she dug her nails into his shoulders and drew blood from his pale skin. As he continued to couple with the female, he drew her head up to his chest. Mitsuko needed a way to release the pain she was experiencing. She shoved up against Sesshomaru's neck. Sesshomaru drew in a quick breathe as small teeth broke the skin on his neck. Blood trickled from the wound and dripped down Mitsuko's chin. Sesshomaru's inu roared, screaming for the female to receive the same mark. Leaning into her neck, Sesshomaru sank perfect fangs into her neck, until her blood trickled down his chin. Mitsuko writhed beneath him in pain. His inu relaxed and began to purr deep within his chest. The female was safe, she was marked, and no male would dare to attempt to take her from him. Sesshomaru watched as Mitsuko slipped into a peaceful sleep beneath him. Nuzzling her hair, Sesshomaru lifted his mate in his arms.

Walking back to the spring, Sesshomaru glanced down at her and knew she did not know what she was doing when she bit him. However, what was done could not be undone. He, Sesshomaru Lord of the Western Lands, now had a human mate. A human mate who would scream so loud, when she found out she was bound to the taiyoukai for eternity, she would make his ears bleed. Sesshomaru's elfish ears flattened against his skull with just the thought of his mate's voice raised shrilly at him. Perhaps it would be best not to say anything to her just yet. He would keep it from her. She was human and would not notice his scent laced with hers, so he could keep it from her.

After redressing himself and his mate, Sesshomaru walked back to camp. He placed her gently under her blanket next to Rin. Looking down on them, Sesshomaru's heart filled with a sense of pride these were his girls.

Sesshomaru sat beneath a tree and glanced to the stars. The day had not ended in an expected way. He now had a human mate as well as a human daughter.


End file.
